Seat for chairs



s. .of HOPKINS.' .13e-ad',V f'or'Chjairs, Settee-s, `,and *Vle'h-cles.`No. 235,437.r V Patented Dec. 14,1880.

K Hql.

UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SYLVAUS G. HOPKINS, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

SEAT FOR CHAIRS, SETTEES, AND VEHICLES.

` SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 235,437, datedDecember 14, 1880.

' l Application filed December 4, 1879.

To all whom it 'may` concern:

Be it known that l, SYLVANUS C. HOPKINS, ot' Boston, Massachusetts, haveinvented certain Improvements in Seats for Chairs, Settees, andVehicles; and l do hereby declare that the same are fully described inthe following specification and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings.

stock. Fig. 2 is `a plan of a seat with some of the bars broken away toillustrate its connection with the leg-frames. Fig. 3 is a side view ofthe seat as applied to a folding chair, and Fig. et a detail view of thesame at the rear end.

My improved seat is composed of a series of parallel bars, a, restingupon and secured to transverse rails b, which are formed with notches orgrooves'c c in their upper edges, of suitable shape, size, and number toreceive the bars a, laid therein sidewise. In the drawings these barsare cylindrical, and the notches of a corresponding form, and I employthis shape almost exclusively because of its economy and simplicity. Isometimes split the bars longitudinally, making them semi-cylindrical,or nearly so, and insert them in the half-round notches, as before. Thisgives a more even upper surface to the seat; but it is not so ornamentalnor so strong, unless larger bars are employed.

` I am accustomed to secure each bar in its notch by driving a singlecorrugated nail through each end into the rail, as indicated in Fig. 2.The advantage of these notches is, that by their aid the seat-bars areheld more iirmly in place, and a much stronger seat is produced thanwould be possible by nailing bars of any shape on a plane surface, as isordinarilyr done. My mode of construction is also much cheaper thanwhere sockets are employed, into each of which the bars a are insertedendwise.

In constructing my improved seat I prefer to proceed as follows: lprepare stock of suitable dimensions and bore a series of holes ofproper size in a line corresponding to the desired curve of the seat,then separate the board into two parts by sawing along the line of thecenters of these holes, thereby leaving one edge of each of the twoparts notched with halfround recesses adapted to receive the cylindricalor semi-cylindrical seat-bars, which may be rapidly and cheaply producedby wellknown means, and efficiently held in their sockets by a singlenail near each end.

The seat thus produced has a very nea-t rustic appearance, and, being socheap and strong, is Well adapted for summer-houses, lawns, and piazzas.Short sections of bamboo, cane, or other wood in the natural state maybe employed for the seat-bars a, and secured in the notches c.

Another feature shown in the drawings, butnot original withme, relatesto the means of connecting the seat to the leg-frames in the simplestmanner. I perforate the cross-rails b at a suitable point, as at d, andpass through such perforations the cross-round e, which, in its fullsize and strength, connects the legs f together and supports the frontof the seat. When the seat is applied to a folding chair, asin thedrawings, this construction enables the seat to swivel or fold againstthe back frame. It arranged for the back instead of the front of theseat to swivel,the holes would be near the back ends of the rails, andthrough them would pass the middle round of the back or long posts ofthe chair. In a rigid chair both front and back holes would be employedfor the rounds; but the seat would not swivel. Thus, without thecastings, staples, screws, or hinges ordinarily required, or any otherexpense than the boring of the holes, and without weakening other partsof the chair, my seat is permanently secured in position.

This construction also admits of all the posts being placed outside ofthe seat-rails without IOO changing thc proper location of the rounds, lcombination therewith ofthe seat therein illuswhich, in a folding chairwith a scrollshaped seat, is convenient to admit the front of the scrollto pass between the front posts, thereby folding' more compactly.

In using my seat iu chairs employing a fabric back, I fasten the upperend ot' thet'abric to the cross-slet connecting the tops ot' the rearposts, and nail the bottom of thc fabric to the rear bar, h, insertedendwise into and iirmly secured in sockets i, through the edges of whichcuts the rear end line ofthe mil b, so as to bring the periphery of' thebur h into the plane ofthe end ofthe rails I.

The advantage of this construction is, that a fabric of the full widthof the sent, or of the space between the posts g, muy be used und nailedto the bar h its entire length without coming in contuct with the railsI. In folding chairs of any kind this bur forms n convenient handle forcarrying the chair. lt also gives n more neat and unil'orm appearance tothe sent :is a whole, and is stronger than a strip merely nailed to theend or bottom ot' the rails l; i'or the same purpose.

I make no claim tothe folding frame shown in Fig. 3, except as to theconstruction and tra ted.

I disclaim the construction and mode of 3o uniting the parts shown inthe Patent No. 80,528, granted to T. J. Close, July 28, 1868, as formingno part of my invention.

I claim as of my invention- 1. The improved seat herein described forcars, settees, chairs, &c., embodying the combination ot aseriesgparallel bars with two or more transverse rails ormed withhalf-round grooves or notches, as described, across their upper ed ges,to receive the parallel bars sidewise land permit their ends to project,said parts being nailed to each other at each intersection,substantially as set forth.

L. The combination, in a seat, of a series of parallel cylindrical barsprojecting at each end beyond the side rails, with two or moretransverse rails having their upper surfaces shaped to the desiredcurvature of the seat, and provided with half-round recesses for theseat-bars, substantially as set forth.

SYLVANUS C. HOPKINS.

Witnesses:

A. H. SPENCER, E. A. IHELPS.

